D&D 5e Guide Magic Item Rarity by Level

D&D 5e sorts magic items into five rarities, and each one carries an expected character level where it starts to feel appropriate. There is no hard rule in the books, but the treasure tables and the suggested item values line up closely with party tier — here is the working map most DMs use.

The five rarities

These value bands come from the Dungeon Master's Guide and double as a quick sanity check when you price an item for sale.

Why rarity tracks the CR tier

The treasure-hoard magic-item tables are keyed to the same four CR tiers used for coins and art objects (see treasure by CR). A tier-1 hoard mostly rolls common and uncommon items; by tier 4 the same roll reaches very rare and legendary. So when you generate loot for the right CR, the rarity distribution lands where it should without extra bookkeeping.

Attunement is the real limiter

Rarity controls power, but attunement controls how much a character can stack: a creature can attune to at most three items at once. That is usually a tighter constraint than rarity, so a party drowning in rare items still has to choose. Cursed and consumable flags matter too — consumables (potions, scrolls) do not eat an attunement slot, which makes them safe rewards at any level.

Hand out items at the right level

The fastest way to keep rewards on-curve is to roll a hoard for the party's actual level. The loot generator pulls magic items by CR tier with rarity, attunement and cursed flags shown, and the merchant generator prices them for a shop. For ad-hoc rolls — like a wild-magic table or a random rarity — the dice roller handles any notation.